How long do you think you'll have to take meds?

Do you think you'll always have to take meds? Or do you think you may be able to eventually get off of them?

I took them from March 2009 to December 2011, so over 2 years, and have been off them since.

I plan to be off them this year .

As it looks like right now I will forever be on meds and therapy. It's not because I don't feel that I can live off medication and I so feel I can. I have a family member is incarceration due to psychosis and I do not want that to be my situation.

I can't see myself ever getting off meds. My pdoc says that BP can get progressively worse if not treated. Not sure if he meant with meds or therapy or both.

The only med I'm working to get off of is Effexor XR. Been taking it since '04 & it's not doing anything from me.

I'm going to see where life takes me.

I'm not going to put a deadline on another. I just want to make sure that I'm taking minimum amounts of whatever is prescribed. Maybe I will be off meds someday.

I want to try going off meds to see if the BP comes back but not a good time for that at the moment. I suspect I'll be on them for life though and I'm ok with that too.

I want off, but I have tried to figure out the best way to handle it. Every time I have tried, I have had to start over. I have thought about beginning to reduce (posted a thread), but I realize that right now I can't jeopardize my job. I lost two as a result of bp and med problems.
So to answer your question, until I figure out a way to get off of them!
Bluemountians

The memory of disasterously trying to stop them last year is quite fresh, so I intend to stay on meds for the duration. I will acknowledge that I have it easier than many: there are meds that work very well for me with minimal, tolerable side effects. I know everyone doesn't have that.

Best,
EJ

I will bo on meds for the rest of my kive. When I go off I end up in the hospital.

I think i hate your pdoc... i have taken ADs for months which made my bp worse so had to stop them... i wanted to take lithium but i am worried about side effects.... and i dont know how my bp can get any more worse... i am already tired of its current stage.... if only i didn't have anyone who cared about me (mom and sis) then i would have found some permanent solution for this stupid bp....

To be honest, I'm afraid to go off meds. I envy the courage of all of you willing to go off meds. On the days when I think about going off meds, I think it would be healthy to get a baseline to find out where I stand in regard to BP. I've been hospitalized twice for psychosis, but wonder if that was just a fluke. I'll take hypomania every time, but the depression is what really kicks my butt. I doubt I'll ever be off low dose ADs, but would like to try to get off the APs & mood stabilizers. I just fear I'd wind up in the hospital again & start making foolish decisions.

I was told by my family doctor that I will be on meds the rest of my life and I'm ok with that.

Current: depakote (1500 mg) and zoloft (200 mg)

I've been told that I'll probably end up taking them for the rest of my life. I hope I can begin to live life without having to worry about medication all the time though...

I fought the diagnosis of bipolar for years. For me and only me I think I will have to be on them for life. I'm hoping to only have to be on a mood stabalizer and something for sleep. So less than I am now but still some. It's SUCKS but that is the choice I'm gonna make for me.

not an easy one to answer, i would like to come of my lithium but am sure that will not happen, not without a replacement of some kind. then at times i think that the stability lithium gives me may be to valuable to risk by giving it up. meds for life,
really am in two minds. sorry i'm no real help.

Someone else mentioned that BP gets worse with age and im 39 so I don't see myself of them anytime soon.

I guess I'm if the thought that as long as meds can control my moods, I don't mind being on them. Who knows what the future holds though, we will see.

I dont know how long ill have to take meds. I would like to say another year or so but the way things go with me and going back and forth to the hospital i think illl be on them for a while. My T said ill probably be on meds for the rest of my life.

I'd like to try getting off meds very soon. They helped me for awhile, but I don't think they're really helping me now. They're just making me fat.

Pdoc confirmed today that I will be on meds for the rest of my life. She is trying to help me lessen/wean off of zoloft, though. I like that my pdoc listens to my concerns. I remember when my grandmother refused to take her meds and we all suffered! This is the memory I need to keep, when, like now, I want to stop all medications.
Bluemountains

Don't stop your meds. Bipolarity is/can be destructive. If you are determined to go off meds, you need to know how to live in practical living. You need to learn how to manage difficulties without meds. Your thoughts and emotions must be on your side, not your enemies...

It took me a long while to accept it, but I'm one of those who's just going to have to stay on meds for good. Things dd not go well for me when I was unmedicated, and I've come so close to ruining my life that I feel it's the best choice for me. I envy anyone who can honestly manage bipolar without medications, but as I've grown older and had more episodes, it's gotten to the point where I don't really have a choice whether to take meds or not.

It looks like I'll be married to meds from now on, too.

im told ill need them for the rest of my life too.

numerous professionals try to get me on injections. NOPE.